A decent fan for the Acer 5720Z and similar models.

A while ago, one of my friends brought me a laptop. He needed Windows reinstalled and some tricky software set up.
The laptop was old, with little memory, and everything was painfully slow. I suggested adding more RAM, which we did, but one small yet noisy problem remained: the old fan.
We decided to tackle it head-on and replace it.
Well, as they say, make hay while the sun shines—and buy a fan in winter :)

Originally, I planned to write this mini-review to recommend a perfectly decent seller on AliExpress.
But when I was filling out the standard review form and opened the product page, I was a little taken aback by the price.
I’ll explain the price at the end. For now, on to the review itself.

The packaging was very basic, but everything arrived safe and sound, and the seller shipped it quickly.


The package contained the fan itself and a syringe of thermal paste.
Someone mentioned a gift in the reviews. Apparently the paste is the gift; to me, it’s just a repair kit.


The fan itself looks perfectly fine. It even had that distinctive new-plastic smell. I’ll compare it with the original a little later.


It has the same three-wire connection as the original.
It fits several laptop models and, if I’m not mistaken, was also used in the Acer 5720Z.


I have no idea where the paste came from; the only thing I can make out on it is the marking DS380.
I’m used to our local KPT-8 and usually use that. This one will probably come in handy for some amateur electronics projects.
As a bonus, or when you don’t have anything else, it’s perfectly fine.


Next, I got down to the actual replacement.
I didn’t need any tools other than a Phillips screwdriver, so I did it at work, although people usually bring everything to my place.
Acer’s designers pleasantly surprised me. To access the cooling system, you only need to remove four screws from the bottom cover.


Unclip a few small tabs, and everything is right there in front of you :)


Then remove three more screws that hold the fan and its housing in place.
That’s it.
Now we can compare it with the original.
Apart from the color of the metal and the dust, I didn’t notice much difference.
I can’t say who made it, since anyone can stick any label on it.


There are a few minor cosmetic differences on the back as well.
And, just like the original, the bearings aren’t accessible. So you can’t simply peel off the protective film, remove the rubber plug, and lubricate them. :(


I put the new fan where the old one had been. It fit perfectly, as if it had always been there.


But after closing the case, I noticed a slight unusual noise that appeared when the laptop was placed on its side.
Apparently, the fan had been pressed during shipping, and the impeller was rubbing slightly against the metal fan housing. I gently bent the thin metal back, and the rubbing noise disappeared.
I also put some electrical tape over the joint between the fan housing and the heatsink so that all the airflow would go through the heatsink.


And that's about it. My friend is happy, the laptop works, and it doesn't annoy anyone nearby. Of course, I cleaned the dust out of the heatsink, but that was done before replacing the fan, so it didn't make it into the review.

Pros
Everything works great, and the replacement went smoothly.
The seller shipped the item fairly quickly.
Thermal paste was included as a bonus.

Cons.
The packaging could have been a little better. It was pressed awkwardly during shipping, causing a rubbing noise. This was easy to fix, but it's best to check before installation.

As for the current price, I think the seller has simply run out of these fans for now and temporarily set a random price by adding 10 in front of the original price: it was 6.85, now it's 106.85.

I hope this information is useful. Parts like these are consumables, so someone may need one. The seller seems decent, and they have all sorts of useful things, too.